For mowing large areas of grass (e.g., public parks, schools, golf courses, cemeteries, and other very large lawns) it is necessary as a practical matter to use a large riding lawn mower which is capable of cutting a wide swath. There are various types of such lawn mowers which are commercially available and are commonly used. Some of such lawn mowers utilize cutting reels while other types utilize large blades which rotate in a horizontal plane. Both general types of lawn mowers include a housing for the cutting means, whether the cutting means comprises cutting reels or rotating blades. The purpose of the housing is to support the cutting means and also to shield the cutting means. The housing and cutting means are sometimes referred to as a cutting deck.
As these large riding lawn mowers are used to cut grass there is a tendency by the operator to attempt to mow as close as physically possible to stationary objects such as trees, retaining walls, bushes, benches, playground equipment, water fountains, etc. so that it is not necessary to go back with a walk-behind mower to trim around the stationary objects. Unfortunately, if an operator drives the mower too close to stationary objects (either intentionally or inadvertently) the side of the cutting deck may actually contact the stationary object. As a result, there may be permanent damage caused to the stationary object.
For example, if the edge of the cutting deck strikes or slides along the surface of a young tree it will normally strip a portion of the bark off or otherwise do significant damage to the tree. Indeed, such an injured tree may even die as a result. When the moving cutting deck strikes similar objects such as hedges and bushes, similar damage may result. Also, when the moving cutting deck comes into contact with a stationary object such as a retaining wall (e.g., a concrete wall) or similar object, permanent damage can be caused to both the side of the cutting deck and the stationary object.
Because of the large size of many of the commercially available riding lawn mowers, and also because of the difficulty of maneuvering such machines close to stationary objects, it is difficult even for experienced and careful operators to operate such machines close to stationary objects without an appreciable risk of contact therewith. For example, the riding lawnmowers typically have a large cutting deck which extends forwardly of the machine. As the machine moves over the ground the cutting deck may move unexpectedly one direction or another if a wheel of the machine passes over a bump or falls into a hole or depression in the ground. Thus, even if a high degree of care is exercised by the machine operator there is still some risk of contact. Of course, for less experienced or less careful operators, there is considerably more risk of contact and attendant damage.